The Altamont Enterprise - Lisa Nicole Viershttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/author/lisa-nicole-viers
enCommencement speeches, a blind look to the futurehttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/opinion/editorials/07082014/commencement-speeches-blind-look-future
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2515" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/07-10-2014%20AE%20Op-Ed%20Art%20David%20Foster%20Wallace.jpg?itok=CvqB5iy-" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/07-10-2014%20AE%20Op-Ed%20Art%20David%20Foster%20Wallace.jpg?itok=oeC2TmuI" width="300" height="279" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Illustration by Carol Coogan</p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>The repetitive regurgitation of commencement-speech clichés, platitudes, and adages was put in the spotlight in 2005 — fittingly enough, in a commencement speech at Kenyon College given by writer David Foster Wallace.</p>
<p>Wallace, whose magnum opus and best-known work, <em>Infinite Jest</em>, is 1,079 pages long, began his speech with what he deemed a “didactic little parable-ish” story, which is a commencement speech staple.</p>
<p>The story Wallace employs goes as follows:</p>
<p>“There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says, ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes, ‘What the hell is water?’”</p>
<p>What is important about the story, for our purposes, is not its content, but how Wallace uses it to get across his point.</p>
<p>The commencement-speech genre, he submits, is full of “teaching you how to think” vernacular, and he posits that what is more essential is learning what to think about and how you interpret the world around you.</p>
<p>In essence, this is the object of his speech. However, in expressing this seemingly simple yet powerful idea, Wallace painstakingly describes some of the most banal and possibly irritating parts of adult life: traffic, long lines, crowded and hot grocery stores, et cetera. These are things that are an inherent part of adulthood by virtue of having to take care of yourself. </p>
<p>Commencement speeches, at any occasion, tend to be congratulatory and contain some sort of lesson for going forward. </p>
<p>Wallace’s speech, by contrast, reveals what at least a part of life after graduation will be like outside the successful careers everyone is sure to obtain.</p>
<p>Being able to handle the trite, repetitive realities of the “adult world” isn’t just reserved for college graduates entering the work force, though. Many high school grads are going away to college, some of them very far from home, to live at least somewhat independently. And a set of them are going to be forced to do many life-maintenance things for themselves for the first time — cooking, cleaning, laundry, and the like.</p>
<p>Typically, these quirks of not living with your parents are mentioned in breaths of excitement about independence and being able to do “what I want, when I want.”</p>
<p>And, while nobody wants to kill the mood, maybe it would be in the best interest of all the kids on their way to being adults to inform them about some of the less exciting parts of life that, some days, feel like the essence of your existence.</p>
<p>A valid initial reaction to this thought may be that this is a cruel idea that will sap the hope and delight from the hearts of graduates the world over. Or that “life is about learning” and lessons are only truly absorbed when experienced — they fall flat when spoon-fed to us.</p>
<p>But, at each ceremony that occurs, a speaker is apt to throw bland life-advice bits at graduates like confetti. Why not be just a little more honest than advising people to “be themselves,” “love one another,” “try new things,” and the ever-pervasive encouragement that “you can accomplish anything if you try hard enough?”</p>
<p>Because, at the end of the day, these things aren’t always true, nor are they at the forefront of your daily routine.</p>
<p>Yes, it is important to maintain your individuality, and be nice to others, and be a good person, and have new experiences. But, it is not always true, or even close to true, that unyielding effort and passion will grant you the life of your dreams. </p>
<p>At least not initially.</p>
<p>Nobody can guarantee you that anything is going to pan out the way you’d like it to, despite your years of academic preparation. Struggles, however, are guaranteed. And maybe it’s not such a bad idea that, amid all the hugging, back-patting, and teary-eyed goodbyes, that someone taps you on the shoulder and says, “Enjoy it while it lasts.”</p>
<p>It’s odd that kids are given the impression that high school is a big, scary place that will swallow them up — both socially and academically. But when it comes to college, the attitude is one of eagerness and enthusiasm, sprinkled with perhaps a little trepidation about what it will be like to be “on your own.”</p>
<p>But nobody lets you in on the fact that many people who breezed through high school struggle in college. Or that maybe being away from home is scarier than you thought it would be. Or how easy it is to get lost on a campus full of old, brick buildings and labyrinthine sidewalks.</p>
<p>Commencement speeches, given on a happy occasion, celebrate the accomplishments of graduates and welcome them with open arms into a world that doesn’t always welcome them back.</p>
<p>Transitioning into a different stage of life merits recognition to be sure, but perhaps, as students step off the stage, diplomas in hand, someone could slip a note between the heavy binding holding their most prized piece of paper that represents all the late-night test cramming, notecard flashing, study-hall napping, relationship making and breaking that have gone into their last 12 years.</p>
<p>After all the photos, hugs, and tears, when they are settled back into their rooms where they wrote essays and equations, they will open the vinyl folder that squeaks and crinkles the way only vinyl can, and atop their diploma, a note will say:</p>
<p>“Hey, you did well, but you can’t stop now. Things are going to be hard. At the very least, they will be boring and annoying. But sometimes, in the moments between the banality and stress of adulthood, you’ll find something beautiful. Cling to it.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">July 8, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/david-foster-wallace" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">david foster wallace</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/commencement-speech" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">commencement speech</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/opinion/editorials/07082014/commencement-speeches-blind-look-future"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Commencement speeches, a blind look to the future">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/opinion/editorials/07082014/commencement-speeches-blind-look-future&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/opinion/editorials/07082014/commencement-speeches-blind-look-future"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=opinion/editorials/07082014/commencement-speeches-blind-look-future" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Tue, 08 Jul 2014 18:22:22 +0000reporter3371 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comLife lessons at Voorheesville graduationhttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/life-lessons-voorheesville-graduation
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2545" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_1144_1.JPG?itok=F0_JJ82n" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_1144_1.JPG?itok=ktIDF5CX" width="300" height="473" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>Stars in her eyes:</strong> Graduate Samantha Longton sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the June 27 graduation ceremony. The Performing Arts Center was still as Longton’s smooth voice carried the lyrics to the ears of the 87 other graduates, their friends and families, and the Clayton A. Bouton High School teachers and administrators in attendance that evening.</p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div><div class="field-item odd"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2543" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_1091_0.JPG?itok=dOglKxIe" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_1091_0.JPG?itok=J4-P-Dit" width="300" height="322" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>Living art:</strong> Paige Bestle student let her graduation robe hang off her shoulders, displaying her intricate back tattoo, in the hot gymnasium before the graduation ceremony began on June 27. Her mortarboard reads “uhart,” possibly for the University of Hartford in Connecticut. Her mortarboard was one of many ornately decorated ones found atop graduates’ heads that evening.</p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2544" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_1118_0.JPG?itok=0pMUTVFk" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_1118_0.JPG?itok=QdxrvyI6" width="300" height="199" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>Deep breaths:</strong> The Capital Region Celtic Pipe Band played the processional at Voorheesville’s graduation ceremony on June 27. The men donned their traditional garb, including kilts.</p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div><div class="field-item odd"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2546" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_1226.JPG?itok=mEaBjn4b" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_1226.JPG?itok=Kgq26fYG" width="300" height="251" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>Back to basics: </strong>David Lawrence, who teaches world history and college-level economics at Clayton A. Bouton High School, spoke to the crowd about the importance of being a good person. He described simple acts like holding the door for someone as things that are often taken for granted in our society. Lawrence’s passionate speech urged the graduates to do their part to make the world a better place, not just for themselves, but for his own children, which he said will grow up to admire the Voorheesville graduates.</p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2547" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_1230_0.JPG?itok=AFRc0W-a" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_1230_0.JPG?itok=V2DMQZsZ" width="300" height="423" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>Pleasant surprise:</strong> Shawn Goyer and Caroline Bablin admire bracelets found under their seats after speaker David Lawrence told the graduates he wanted to give them something to have to not only remember their time together, but to remember to be a good person.</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div><div class="field-item odd"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2548" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_1277_0.JPG?itok=MXUEfBDO" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_1277_0.JPG?itok=w7i7EKAF" width="300" height="235" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>Walking toward the future:</strong> Derek Cacciotti shakes hands with each Clayton A. Bouton High School teacher as he walks from the middle school entrance after receiving his diploma. He holds the hand of an aid here, but he proudly walked across the stage in the Performing Arts Center himself.</p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>VOORHEESVILLE — Pink lines streaked across the sky as the sun was setting the evening of June 27.</p>
<p>But, though the night was ending, that moment was also the beginning of a new life for many.</p>
<p>Eighty-eight members of the Clayton A. Bouton High School class of 2014 filled the parking lot with friends and family just moments after walking across the stage and receiving their diplomas.</p>
<p>Just a few minutes before, in the final moments together as a class, they stood at their seats on the stage of the Lydia C. Tobler Performing Arts Center with their diplomas in hand and threw their caps up in the air.</p>
<p>Many of the mortarboards were decorated proclaiming “Class of 2014;” others named a destination: University of Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Cornell were some of the schools represented.</p>
<p>Many of the more ornately decorated mortarboards, covered in glitter and rhinestones, didn’t fly with their classmates’, but stayed firmly planted on the heads of their decorators.</p>
<p>Rewind further back that evening to see the seniors excitedly milling about the gymnasium in their final minutes as students.</p>
<p>The gym was warm, but that didn’t stop the students from huddling together to take group photos. Some girls kept adjusting their hair and bobby pins under their caps as they hurried between friends. Boys stood in groups, a few of them notably towering over their classmates.</p>
<p>Before the seniors filed into the Performing Arts Center, a slideshow of photos of the senior class as babies, children, and adolescents flicked across a large screen in the front of the auditorium.</p>
<p>Parents clapped and whooped as their children’s photos appeared. Some more amusing baby photos earned laughs from the crowd.</p>
<p>A few moments after the slideshow ended and the screen disappeared, the sound of bagpipes filtered into the auditorium, and audience members craned their necks to get a better look. The Capital Region Celtic Pipe Band members, wearing kilts, walked proudly down the aisle, settling in front of the stage where they finished the processional song.</p>
<p>Almost as soon as necks had realigned themselves, members of the school band began to play “Pomp and Circumstance,” which has been a traditional graduation song since it was first played at such an event at Yale in 1905. </p>
<p>Families and friends of graduates rapidly swiveled in their seats, phones and cameras fixed to the ends of their hands, and clicked photo after photo as the line of students made its way down the aisles and onto the stage.</p>
<p>Each graduate held a yellow flower; many smiled happily as they walked to their seats.</p>
<p>From the front row, a procession of shoes flowed across the carpet: glittering stilettos, Nike basketball shoes, flip-flops, loafers, and high heels of all colors and heights.</p>
<p>Following the Pledge of Allegiance, “The Star-Spangled Banner” was sung by senior Samantha Longton, who had performed in many plays at Clayton A. Bouton during the last four years.</p>
<p>Longton’s powerful voice centered all the attention on her as she sang, from the first note to the last. As she walked back to her seat on stage, classmates smiled at her; some told her “great job.”</p>
<p>Five students then huddled around the lectern as they gave the class sentiment. Elizabeth Bjork, Kevin Clark, Katherine Collins, Logan Hotaling, and Alexandra Moreau each took turns speaking about their time in the Voorheesville school district, and shared fond memories of their teachers, classmates, field trips, and extracurricular activities on their way to graduating.</p>
<p>They described Voorheesville as a place people could quickly come to know as home, no matter how long they had been there.</p>
<p>After the class sentiment, a group of graduates lined the front of the stage and sang “Seasons of Love,” a popular song from the Broadway hit musical Rent. The piano in front of the stage supplied the notes as the graduates belted out the lyrics, some tapping their feet or swaying lightly along with the music.</p>
<h3><strong>Words to live by</strong></h3>
<p>The salutatory address was then given by Christian Keenan, whose mortarboard was decorated in puffy paint to depict a pokéball, from the television show and card game Pokémon, which was the center of his speech.</p>
<p>“Pokémon has really taught me that life is a journey,” said Keenan, who was also the president of the class of 2014, and will attend the University of Rochester.</p>
<p>After Keenan’s speech, the student-selected speaker, graduate Morgan Zell, took to the podium.</p>
<p>Zell, an effervescent speaker with a sincere voice and attitude, spoke to the audience and her fellow graduates about her class’s close-knit community, where she knew each classmate personally, and cared about every one of them.</p>
<p>“Undoubtedly, the Voorheesville community has changed my life,” she said.</p>
<p>She fervently told the students to love themselves, love one another, and stay unique.</p>
<p>“We must learn to love every person,” Zell said, “because every person is important in the world.”</p>
<p>As she spoke, Zell looked out into the audience, and back at her classmates, exuding confidence, excitement, and authenticity to her fellow graduates. She emphasized living in the moment and caring for others.</p>
<p>“Let every second of every day be the best time of your life,” she said.</p>
<p>Zell’s bubbly and joyous speech was followed by the down-to-earth valedictory speech given by Julia Suozzo, who is going to Harvard.</p>
<p>Suozzo started with saying that everyone’s experience of high school is unique to him or her.</p>
<p>“Who am I to tell you how to live your life?” she asked.</p>
<p>Her speech centered on thanking those around her, describing the skills high school taught her, and congratulating her classmates on this accomplishment.</p>
<p>Superintendent Teresa Thayer Snyder then gave her remarks to the audience, saying, “These graduates walked in as boys and girls, and will walk out as men and women.”</p>
<p>She quoted from poet e e cummings, “It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are.”</p>
<p>Thayer Snyder urged the graduates to enjoy the world around them and make choices to enhance their lives.</p>
<p>“You will be amazed how intelligent your parents become when you’re between the ages of 18 and 22,” Thayer Snyder said, paraphrasing Mark Twain, which elicited laughs from parents in the crowd.</p>
<p>Her short speech was followed up by the guest speaker for this year’s graduation, David Lawrence. Lawrence teaches global history and college-level economics, and he also coaches several sports at Clayton A. Bouton High School, including modified soccer.</p>
<p>“I’ve always had a connection with this class,” he said, noting that he began teaching in Voorheesville the same year that group of students was in its first year of middle school.</p>
<p>Lawrence’s speech emphasized the need to be a good person in a world that judges people based on tests, evaluations, and applications.</p>
<p>“Maybe a good person is something we take for granted,” he said.</p>
<p>He advised everyone to treat other people with common courtesy, like opening a door for someone or saying “hello” to a stranger on the sidewalk.</p>
<p>“Failure is a part of life,” Lawrence said. “Why not strive for something you can accomplish every day?”</p>
<p>Lawrence was also involved with an extracurricular group at Clayton A. Bouton called Natural Helpers. He described an exercise he did with the group where all of them tied strings around their wrists; he said he wanted to do something similar at graduation, but figured string would get messy.</p>
<p>He then told them he came up with an alternative, and asked the graduates to look under their chairs.</p>
<p>Taped underneath the seat of each of the 88 Clayton A. Bouton High School graduates, was a bracelet with a quote from his speech on it.</p>
<p>“We all need to be reminded of what’s important,” Lawrence said.</p>
<p>“Remember to be good people. In other words, remember to be yourselves.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">July 4, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/new-scotland" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">New Scotland</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/graduation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">graduation</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/voorheesville-central-school-district" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Voorheesville Central School District</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/life-lessons-voorheesville-graduation"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Life lessons at Voorheesville graduation">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/life-lessons-voorheesville-graduation&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/life-lessons-voorheesville-graduation"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/07042014/life-lessons-voorheesville-graduation" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 04 Jul 2014 23:28:36 +0000admin3414 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comValedictorian Suozzo gives thanks and looks forwardhttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/valedictorian-suozzo-gives-thanks-and-looks-forward
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2549" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_1078.JPG?itok=7rVsnTUF" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_1078.JPG?itok=XKPzJf-G" width="300" height="450" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>Smiling for success: </strong>Before heading into the Lydia A. Tobler Performing Arts Center, salutatorian Christian Keenan, left, and valedictorian Julia Suozzo posed for a photo in the gymnasium. Keenan will be attending the University of Rochester this fall, and Suozzo will be attending Harvard University.</p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>VOORHEESVILLE — Julia Suozzo, the class valedictorian, shared wisdom from her experiences at Voorheesville in the speech she gave to her classmates and their friends and families at the June 27 commencement ceremony.</p>
<p>“Who am I to tell you how to live your life?” she asked at the beginning of her speech, emphasizing that high school is a different experience for everyone and she wasn’t looking to give a typical graduation speech filled with advice.</p>
<p>For Suozzo, whose sister will be a junior at Clayton A. Bouton this coming fall, her high school experience included many college-level and honors classes, as well as participating in the Science Olympiad and being on the varsity swim team; this year, she was captain.</p>
<p>In the fall, Suozzo will be attending Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She said to The Enterprise before graduation that she has chosen physics for her major right now, “but that’s very subject to change.”</p>
<p>One catalyst for her interest in the field came from taking a physics course with Ted Simons, who was given an award earlier this year for being an inspirational high school educator.</p>
<p>“It’s cool to look at the world around you and see how things come together,” Suozzo told <em>The Enterprise</em>, regarding her interest in physics.</p>
<p>Suozzo said she was drawn to Harvard because she “really wanted something with a liberal arts base,” rather than an engineering school.</p>
<p>She liked the idea of being able to study everything she wants, not just her major area.</p>
<p>“I just felt like I kind of clicked with the students there,” she said, describing her feelings when visiting the school.</p>
<p>She is hoping to participate in club sports at Harvard, and is also interested in joining a chorus or band group and get involved in community service.</p>
<p>While at Voorheesville, Suozzo volunteered as a ski instructor for people who have mental or physical disabilities.</p>
<p>Speaking about the educational environment at Voorheesville, Suozzo said, “Every teacher really likes what they’re doing.”</p>
<p>Suozzo took many college-level and honors classes while at Clayton A. Bouton, and said the environment was “more competitive with yourself” than with other students.</p>
<p>During her valedictory speech, Suozzo said high school taught her interpersonal skills as well as academic ones. Every day, you have to interact with friends and teachers, which helps you learn how to interact with co-workers and bosses later in life, she said.</p>
<p>She also thanked her family in her speech, saying, “Without you, there would be no me.”</p>
<p>When she spoke with <em>The Enterprise</em> a few days before graduating, Souzzo said she built self-confidence during her high school years in Voorheesville, and that organization and discipline were important to her accomplishing what she wanted.</p>
<p>“Do everything first and do it thoroughly,” was how she described her work ethic.</p>
<p>She said her speech was difficult to write, because it needed to say something important, but also not be boring.</p>
<p>She began her speech by noting that, in preparation for writing it, she looked up the definition of “valedictory,” which means expressing or relating to a farewell.</p>
<p>“I did some homework, which shouldn’t surprise anyone,” she said while at the lectern.</p>
<p>In her speech, she expressed a farewell to her classmates, but also to their collective past as Voorheesville students, and she looked towards the future.</p>
<p>“Where do we go from here? Anywhere. Everywhere, I hope,” she said.</p>
<p>“The future, which can be frightening to think about,” she continued, “should be exciting.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">July 4, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/new-scotland" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">New Scotland</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/voorheesville-central-school-district" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Voorheesville Central School District</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/valedictorian-suozzo-gives-thanks-and-looks-forward"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Valedictorian Suozzo gives thanks and looks forward">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/valedictorian-suozzo-gives-thanks-and-looks-forward&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/valedictorian-suozzo-gives-thanks-and-looks-forward"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/07042014/valedictorian-suozzo-gives-thanks-and-looks-forward" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 04 Jul 2014 18:34:19 +0000admin3415 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comTeamwork is the tool to success, says salutatorian Christian Keenanhttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/teamwork-tool-success-says-salutatorian-christian-keenan
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>VOORHEESVILLE — Salutatorian Christian Keenan stood alone at the lectern as he gave his speech on June 27. But, behind him sat the rest of the members of the Clayton A. Bouton High School class of 2014, and in front of him were all their friends and families.</p>
<p>As he gave his salutatory speech, Keenan looked from one group to the other; he was talking a lot about teamwork, and how being part of a team helped each student accomplish his or her goals.</p>
<p>He likened the relationships each student had with friends, family, and teachers to the relationships found in the television show and card game Pokémon.</p>
<p>“Pokémon has really taught me that life is a journey,” he said. “As we progress, we face great opposition.”</p>
<p>Only by working together as a team, Keenan said, can anyone overcome the myriad challenges life throws at you. </p>
<p>This fall, Keenan will be leaving his Voorheesville team to become part of a new community at the University of Rochester, where he plans to study biomedical engineering.</p>
<p>Before graduation, he told <em>The Enterprise</em> he was also considering chemical engineering or biology.</p>
<p>“I’m a math and science nerd,” he said. “The reason I like math and science is you know when you’re done… You know what you don’t know, and it spurs you to keep going.”</p>
<p>When he wasn’t engrossed in math and science classes at Voorheesville, Keenan participated in soccer and track, as well as many clubs and student government.</p>
<p>Keenan’s favorite position was being class president, and he made it his priority.</p>
<p>“I was president of my class before everything else,” he said.</p>
<p>Keenan enjoyed all the diverse activities and fundraisers the class officers and student government have been doing, and wants to continue participating in those groups while in college.</p>
<p>His decision to go to the University of Rochester was founded on its academics, as well as the diversity of its students and the extracurriculars it offers, Keenan said.</p>
<p>He felt that the school recognized that “a student is a person outside the classroom.”</p>
<p>Balancing his studies with his other school activities was vital to Keenan.</p>
<p>“My dad always told me to do what I have to do before what I want to do,” he said.</p>
<p>Outside school, Keenan said he enjoys hanging out and watching television.</p>
<p>“My favorite show is <em>Master Chef</em>,” he said, “which is ironic because I cannot cook to save my life.”</p>
<p>While cooking may not have been a part of Keenan’s studies in high school, he went into Clayton A. Bouton wanting to try everything.</p>
<p>“I remember when I went in [as a freshman] with my ‘nerd herd,’ as I sometimes call them,” Keenan said, “we wanted to do this and this and this… We went in with a positive attitude.”</p>
<p>“In middle school they made high school sound like the big monster you would be lucky to survive,” he continued, “but, every bit of hard work you put into it pays off, even if it’s not immediately.”</p>
<p>In his speech, Keenan championed not the hard work of the individual, but the hard work of the team, and how the support of team members makes things possible.</p>
<p>“When you fall, they are there,” he said.</p>
<p>Amid quoting from the Pokémon theme song and dialogue from the show, Keenan’s final advice to his classmates was his own.</p>
<p>“Find a team. Work together. Achieve your wildest dreams.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">July 4, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/voorheesville-central-school-district" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Voorheesville Central School District</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/graduation" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">graduation</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/teamwork-tool-success-says-salutatorian-christian-keenan"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Teamwork is the tool to success, says salutatorian Christian Keenan">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/teamwork-tool-success-says-salutatorian-christian-keenan&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07042014/teamwork-tool-success-says-salutatorian-christian-keenan"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/07042014/teamwork-tool-success-says-salutatorian-christian-keenan" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 04 Jul 2014 18:27:35 +0000reporter3372 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comNew Scotland man arrested for biting officerhttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07032014/new-scotland-man-arrested-biting-officer
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2538" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/crime%2C%20Salerno.png?itok=kFAr9Ahm" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/crime%2C%20Salerno.png?itok=TNbafSrF" width="250" height="311" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><strong>Michele Salerno</strong></p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>NEW SCOTLAND — During a traffic stop on June 30, Guilderland Police say Officer Robert Bailey was assaulted and bitten by Michele Salerno.</p>
<p>Salerno, 54, of 707 Altamont-Voorheesville Road in New Scotland, has been in contact with the Guilderland Police frequently over the last several years due to his complaints and allegations of neighbors’ dogs coming onto his property and attacking his fowl.</p>
<p>He spoke to<em> The Enterprise</em> in January, after shooting his neighbor’s collie. He was not charged in the dog’s death because the state’s Agricultural and Markets Law authorizes an owner to shoot if a dog attacks or threatens a companion animal, farm animal, or domestic animal. Salerno said the collie killed his duck and had the duck in its mouth at the time he shot it.</p>
<p>He could not be reached for comment this week.</p>
<p>Salerno, who was born and raised in Italy, works as a general contractor and derives both income and pleasure from his birds. He said in January that he regards many of his birds as pets and spoke about them with great passion.</p>
<p>Salerno has tried using the law to protect his birds, to little avail. Representing himself in court, he added up the losses, figuring, for example, the 240 eggs per year a chicken produces — his are free range — and calculated the loss at $9,000. When he sued to recover $3,000, he said the judge cracked a joke, asking if he had the chicken that laid a golden egg, and awarded him just $100.</p>
<p>During the traffic stop on June 30, at about 7 p.m., Salerno, a passenger, exited the vehicle and confronted Officer Bailey, going against the officer’s orders to return to the car, according to the release from the Guilderland Police Department.</p>
<p>The release goes on to say that, while Bailey was attempting to handcuff Salerno after placing him under arrest, Salerno resisted, assaulting and biting the officer.</p>
<p>Guilderland Police Chief Carol Lawlor said Wednesday that reports of people biting an officer aren’t frequent, but they do happen.</p>
<p>“It’s usually when an officer has to arrest someone,” she said, “or has to break up a fight.”</p>
<p>Salerno was charged with third-degree criminal mischief and second-degree assault, both felonies; and resisting arrest and second-degree obstructing governmental administration, both misdemeanors.</p>
<p>He was remanded to Albany County’s jail in lieu of $4,000 bail.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">July 3, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">crime</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/guilderland-police-department" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Guilderland Police Department</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07032014/new-scotland-man-arrested-biting-officer"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="New Scotland man arrested for biting officer">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07032014/new-scotland-man-arrested-biting-officer&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07032014/new-scotland-man-arrested-biting-officer"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/07032014/new-scotland-man-arrested-biting-officer" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 03 Jul 2014 23:20:57 +0000admin3412 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comMonarchs have a new place to growhttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07022014/monarchs-have-new-place-grow
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2514" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/IMG_1018.JPG?itok=SMs5zqqU" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/IMG_1018.JPG?itok=8i6RXdK8" width="300" height="235" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Michael Koff</p>
<p><strong>Proud students</strong> show off their Monarch Waystation sign for their participation in the Save the Monarchs program Tricia Putman created for second-grade students in Voorheesville. From left, in the back row are: Eric Richardson, Madeleine Reilly, and Kendra Krasuski. In front, are: Braden Stein and Cian Connolly. </p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>VOORHEESVILLE — The garden project at Voorheesville Elementary School got a new addition this year when Tricia Putman made the Save the Monarchs program for second-grade students.</p>
<p>Putman, a parent of two daughters in the Voorheesville school district, also coaches an Odyssey of the Mind team at the elementary school. This past year, her team of fifth-grade students made it to state-level competition.</p>
<p>She has been involved with the garden project, which is funded by the Voorheesville Parent Teacher Association, since 2010, including the farm-to-school initiative, as well as the community and school garden, Blackbird Paradise. She wanted to bring a new program into the school, and created Save the Monarchs herself after seeing an article in a magazine about the plight the monarchs are facing.</p>
<p>Development of land is destroying the monarchs’ natural habitat, and many people consider milkweed, the only food source for monarch larvae, to be an unwanted plant since it can spread easily, so the plant often gets destroyed.</p>
<p>Both milkweed plants and monarchs themselves are vulnerable to herbicides and pesticides used by many farmers and gardeners.</p>
<p>The Save the Monarchs program fit perfectly with the curriculum for second-graders, she said, because they are learning about plant and animal life cycles.</p>
<p>Putman got in touch with monarchwatch.org, a national program based out of the University of Kansas that gets people of all ages involved in their large-scale project about conserving monarch butterflies.</p>
<p>Putman wanted to help raise awareness about the issues monarchs face, so getting the students to be involved with a national organization was a perfect fit.</p>
<p>Each second-grade classroom and the elementary school science lab got a “rearing kit” from Monarch Watch so they could see the caterpillars transform into butterflies.</p>
<p>The students also learned about milkweed, monarch larvae’s only food source. Putman taught the children how milkweed is poisonous to most insects, but monarchs are immune, and their ability to eat the milkweed makes them poisonous and foul-tasting to whatever creature tries to make a snack of them.</p>
<p>The kids thought that was the coolest part, Putman said.</p>
<p>While the monarchs were growing up, the students had to plant nectar sources around the monarch area of the garden so the adult monarchs would have food.</p>
<p>The butterflies were released in mid-June, and, when they begin to migrate south in the fall, Putman hopes to have the newest second-graders participate in Save the Monarchs by tagging the butterflies with little stickers, which allow Monarch Watch to track their migration patterns.</p>
<p>Also, the kids will collect the seed pods from milkweed plants before the pods pop open, and send them to Monarch Watch, which will grow new milkweed plants with them to send on to other schools and institutions interested in helping create an environment for the monarchs.</p>
<p>The effort of Putman and the students with this project earned the Voorheesville garden Monarch Waystation certification from Monarch Watch.</p>
<p>Waystation certification is given to places that properly create a habitat for the monarchs and maintain food sources for them during all life stages.</p>
<p>Not only are the students helping a creature that is the state insect for seven states, they are learning in the process.</p>
<p>“Hands-on explorative learning is so exciting to the kids,” Putman said, concluding, “Learning is easy when you make it so fun.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">July 2, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/voorheesville-central-school-district" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Voorheesville Central School District</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/science" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">science</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07022014/monarchs-have-new-place-grow"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Monarchs have a new place to grow">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07022014/monarchs-have-new-place-grow&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07022014/monarchs-have-new-place-grow"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/07022014/monarchs-have-new-place-grow" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 02 Jul 2014 18:16:40 +0000reporter3369 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comAlbany County Surrogate's Court judge removal upheldhttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07022014/albany-county-surrogates-court-judge-removal-upheld
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>ALBANY — Cathryn M. Dyle won’t return to the bench, on June 26, the New York State Court of Appeals upheld a previous ruling by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to revoke her judgeship on the Albany County Surrogate’s Court, where she had served since 2000.</p>
<p>There were nine instances where the state’s top court found Doyle, who lives in New Scotland, had committed misconduct which dealt with three different people, each a separate charge.</p>
<p>Thomas Spargo was a close friend of Doyle, and had been her attorney at one point as well as represented cases that went through her court. Spargo was removed from office by the Commission on Judicial Conduct in 2006 due to his activity soliciting money from lawyers who went through his court so he could pay his own court bills — a defense that stemmed from his electioneering for Berne Town Judge.</p>
<p>The opinion given by the Court of Appeals notes that Doyle is the godmother of Spargo’s son, and also that she was censured in 2007 due to her misleading and evasive testimony during the commission’s investigation into her role in Spargo’s solicitation activities. </p>
<p>The Court of Appeals also saw misconduct in Doyle’s actions regarding cases brought forth by her campaign manager, Matthew J. Kelly, while she was running for re-election for Surrogate’s Court in 2010. Kelly was also heavily involved in Doyle’s 2007 run for Supreme Court Justice.</p>
<p>Doyle also presided over cases submitted by her personal attorney William J. Cade, who represented Doyle in the case that resulted in her censure in 2007.</p>
<p>In her case before the Commission on Judicial Conduct last November, as well as her challenge of its decision to revoke her judgeship, Doyle’s petitioner, William J. Dreyer maintained that “prior to 2011, the ethics opinions were unclear as to a Surrogate’s disclosure or recusal obligations in nonadversarial matters,” the majority opinion by the Court of Appeals said. </p>
<p>“However,” the opinion continues, “a judge’s obligation to disqualify herself based on the appearance of impropriety has long been in place and has not been dependent on the nature of the proceeding.”</p>
<p>The majority opinion was agreed upon by Chief Judge Lippman and judges Susan P. Read, Robert S. Smith, Jenny Rivera, and Shelia Abdus-Salaam. Judge Victoria Graffeo took no part.</p>
<p>Judge Eugene F. Pigott, in his dissent, asserted “the charges here are few and minor and involve only an ‘appearance of impropriety’ and concededly resulting in no impropriety in-fact.”</p>
<p>Pigott held that censure would have been a more fitting sanction for Doyle’s misconduct than outright removal.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">July 2, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/new-york-state-court-appeals" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">New York State Court of Appeals</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/courts" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">courts</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/cathryn-doyle" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cathryn doyle</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07022014/albany-county-surrogates-court-judge-removal-upheld"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Albany County Surrogate's Court judge removal upheld">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07022014/albany-county-surrogates-court-judge-removal-upheld&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/07022014/albany-county-surrogates-court-judge-removal-upheld"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/07022014/albany-county-surrogates-court-judge-removal-upheld" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Wed, 02 Jul 2014 18:13:12 +0000reporter3368 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comUtility companies can re-submit planshttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06272014/utility-companies-can-re-submit-plans
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2491" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/DSC00911.JPG?itok=9uFOr4W9" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/DSC00911.JPG?itok=IauVppLU" width="300" height="225" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise--Lisa Nicole Viers</p>
<p><strong>Power lines stretch</strong> across fields in rural Albany County. Two horses are grazing near the lower right side of the photo.</p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>ALBANY COUNTY — Governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement in January of incentives for utility projects that stay within the existing utility corridor was welcome news to many, especially Albany County residents.</p>
<p>Only a couple of months before, four different companies proposed plans to bring power from the North down to New York City using new sets of power lines that could hurt the aesthetics of the area, and the health of its residents.</p>
<p>Transco (National Grid), NextEra, Boundless Energy LLC, and North America Transmission all submitted proposals to the Public Service Commission in October 2013.</p>
<p>But, because the selection process for these proposals was already underway, the governor’s incentive of expedited approval for projects staying within the utility corridor did not apply.</p>
<p>Even before this realization, activism against the projects was roiling, with community groups popping up throughout the Hudson Valley, where the initial proposal routes implied the possibility of eminent domain, where the government can take private land for a price. Also, companies can buy the rights to build on private land without owning it.</p>
<p>New Scotland has also been at the center of the “energy Superhighway” project, as it is home to a power substation and some of the widest portions of the existing utility corridor.</p>
<p>Recently, the PSC gave the companies a chance to resubmit their proposals — with the incentive put forth by the governor in January.</p>
<p>The companies are not required to submit new proposals that stay within the height and width of the existing utility corridor, or right-of-way, but New Scotland Town Board member Daniel Mackay expects that they will.</p>
<p>The PSC saw the political activism surrounding the energy Superhighway, Mackay said, and “read it appropriately,” responding with this new opportunity for the utility companies.</p>
<p>“Until we see the new projects come in,” he said, “we don’t really know what we’re dealing with.”</p>
<p>There is no hard deadline for submissions yet, said Mackay, who is also the director of public policy for the Preservation League of New York State, but he expects more detailed proposals to be seen in late summer to early fall.</p>
<p> “The [selection and approval] process has been delayed significantly because of this,” he said, “and I think it’s been delayed appropriately.”</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">June 27, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/utility-corridor" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">utility corridor</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/right-way" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">right of way</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/national-grid" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">National Grid</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/transco" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">transco</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-4" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/new-scotland" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">New Scotland</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-5" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/energy-superhighway" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Energy Superhighway</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06272014/utility-companies-can-re-submit-plans"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Utility companies can re-submit plans">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06272014/utility-companies-can-re-submit-plans&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06272014/utility-companies-can-re-submit-plans"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/06272014/utility-companies-can-re-submit-plans" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:31:32 +0000reporter3343 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comPolice say: Feura Bush man steals lawn mower from neighbor, drives it homehttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06272014/police-say-feura-bush-man-steals-lawn-mower-neighbor-drives-it-home
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>NEW SCOTLAND — Three police agencies — state, county, and the city of Albany — worked on a case leading to the arrest of a resident of Lower Flatrock Road, who, they say, drove away a lawn mower that belonged to his former landlord and tried to sell it on Craigslist.</p>
<p>Eric Galea, 32, of 165 Lower Flatrock Road, was charged with third-degree grand larceny and third-degree burglary, both felonies.</p>
<p>Galea’s lawyer, public defendant Michael Jurena, told <em>The Enterprise</em> last week that he is working on a deal for Galea.</p>
<p>“There is still information coming in,” he said, “We’re going to look at the case from all different angles.”</p>
<p>According to the arrest report from the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, events occurred as follows: The landlord reported the theft on June 1 and said his lawn mower could have been stolen anywhere between May 25 and the day he reported it missing.</p>
<p>State Police arrived at the scene and told the sheriff’s deputy Jordan Harrington that Galea was identified as a suspect.</p>
<p>On May 29, an Albany Police Officer had seen an ad on Craigslist for a Ferris lawn mower that was later found to match the description of the lawn mower stolen from Lower Flatrock Road. The officer who saw the ad called the phone number listed, and spoke with someone named “Eric,” who said the lawn mower could be seen at 165 Lower Flatrock Road — Galea’s address.</p>
<p>On June 2 and 3, deputies interviewed two of Galea’s neighbors about the alleged larceny. One neighbor said he saw Galea and another man at Galea’s residence on May 29 with a large red Ferris zero-turn lawn mower, and that they kept starting and turning off the mower until it would no longer start.</p>
<p>The same neighbor also said he saw Galea and the other man load the mower onto a trailer and that the male drove away with the trailer attached to a truck. Galea left a few minutes later in a van, he said.</p>
<p>Another neighbor said he saw Galea walking down the road from his house, and then a short while later saw him riding a red Ferris zero-turn lawn mower back to his house, where he repeatedly turned the lawn mower on and off.</p>
<p>On June 4, Galea was found at his home and taken to the public safety building in Clarksville, where he was interviewed and admitted to stealing the lawn mower.</p>
<p> </p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">June 27, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/eric-galea" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">eric galea</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/lower-flatrock-road" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">lower flatrock road</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06272014/police-say-feura-bush-man-steals-lawn-mower-neighbor-drives-it-home"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Police say: Feura Bush man steals lawn mower from neighbor, drives it home">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06272014/police-say-feura-bush-man-steals-lawn-mower-neighbor-drives-it-home&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06272014/police-say-feura-bush-man-steals-lawn-mower-neighbor-drives-it-home"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/06272014/police-say-feura-bush-man-steals-lawn-mower-neighbor-drives-it-home" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Fri, 27 Jun 2014 16:25:27 +0000reporter3342 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comOzmat’s cool solution to a hot landing on the Red Planethttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/ozmat%E2%80%99s-cool-solution-hot-landing-red-planet
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2427" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/oz2.png?itok=AEbhb7b4" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/oz2.png?itok=awWkGdOK" width="300" height="400" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Lisa Nicole Viers<br /><strong>Burhan Ozmat</strong> sits at his desk in the office of his New Scotland home. Ozmat recently created an integral piece of a craft that will be traveling to Mars in 2016. The mechanical engineer made his device, which will cool the craft as it falls onto the Martian surface, in the basement of his house, the living room of which holds a white couch and drum set.</p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div><div class="field-item odd"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2426" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/oz1.png?itok=NdFiL85-" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/oz1.png?itok=kd_GJ-5e" width="300" height="400" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Lisa Nicole Viers<br /><strong>Not as random as it looks:</strong><strong> </strong>Burhan Ozmat presides over a basement laboratory that holds discarded versions of cooling devices sitting in plastic bins on a table in the foreground. The final pieces of his aluminum device will be vital parts of a landing craft going to Mars in 2016. A waterfall of wires cascades off the cart to Ozmat’s left; these wires were used to perform tests on his creation to make sure it could adequately cool the craft for the entire duration of the landing. The bookshelf behind the cart is stacked with years of <em>Scientific American.</em><br /><em> </em></p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>NEW SCOTLAND — Burhan Ozmat sits on a small 1960s-style pedestal swivel chair in his office, holding what looks like a silver dish scrubber near his face and blowing through it.<br />
The small rectangle isn’t silver, however; it’s aluminum. And it isn’t a dish scrubber; it’s a thermal capacitor that will be taking a 10-month journey to Mars in 2016.</p>
<p>Well, not that precise one, but several thermal capacitors of the exact size and specifications needed to make the landing of the ExoMars craft a success.</p>
<p>Ozmat boasts, and perhaps rightly so, that the European Space Agency and Russian Federal Space Agency approached him, living in what he calls “quiet little Voorheesville,” to design, test, and make an integral cooling component of the Entry, Descent, and Landing Demonstrator Module for the ExoMars mission.</p>
<p>His cozy home is a long way from Mars to be sure, but it is also far from Istanbul, where Ozmat was born. He completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees, both in mechanical engineering, at the Technical University of Istanbul before coming to the United States to continue his studies. </p>
<p>Ozmat earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984; his diploma is displayed in a frame on a wall of his office near the windows that look out over his wooded backyard.</p>
<p>About a third of the office floor is covered in plastic crates filled with manila folders; inset bookshelves line the walls, bursting with large volumes.</p>
<p>Organic chemistry, machine design, heat transfer — these are just a few of the subjects these volumes cover.</p>
<p>His wooden desk is laden with two Dell desktop computer monitors, and a Dell laptop that is at least two inches thick sits on a smaller desk against a stone-covered wall. A small shelf holds CDs and a stack of floppy disks, artifacts of technology, a subject Ozmat has been familiar with for many years.</p>
<p>Ozmat worked at IBM in Hopewell Junction, south of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. from 1984 to 1987.</p>
<p>For the next 16 years, Ozmat joined teams of engineers at Texas Instruments, Harris Power Research and Development Center, and General Electric.</p>
<p>He spent two years at GE in Niskayuna before the company dissolved its power electronics packaging and reliability department, of which Ozmat was a part. The department used mechanical engineering to get heat out of electronics, particularly “miniaturized advanced electronics, which is where the world is going,” Ozmat said.</p>
<p>After the department was no more, many of Ozmat’s coworkers got shuffled around, and he spent about four months fixing laundry machines, refrigerators, and other appliances for the company.</p>
<p>Soon, he realized this wasn’t for him, and he created his own company where he could pursue the projects that interested him. In 2000, he formed OZER Advanced Technologies, which he runs out of his basement laboratory. </p>
<p>It is in this lab that Ozmat spent years making and testing different variations on the devices that will keep the electrical components of the module cool as it hurtles down through the Martian atmosphere for 90 minutes, “including the crash-landing” on the planet’s surface, Ozmat said.</p>
<p>If the electrical components within the module get too warm, they may malfunction, rendering millions of dollars, Euros, and rubles worth of equipment useless.</p>
<p>Ozmat blows through the aluminum rectangle, perforated with hundreds to thousands of tiny holes, to display its capacity for air flow, which is a common cooling technique.</p>
<p>However, with no air in space, the job of cooling the module parts gets tricky.</p>
<p>Rather than using an active form of cooling, such as blowing air or circulating water, Ozmat had to come up with a passive way to keep the temperature of the craft down — namely, by coming up with something to absorb the energy.</p>
<p>Aluminum is very good at conducting or transferring energy, Ozmat said, but isn’t very good at absorbing it. After what Ozmat described as “about 25 years of playing,” he came up with a solution.</p>
<p>After the thermal capacitors are made through a process involving plastic molds and molten aluminum, they are filled with wax, which Ozmat found to be an excellent material for absorbing energy, and therefore heat, from the module components. </p>
<p>After the aluminum cast is made, liquid wax is poured into it, filling all the nooks and crannies that make up the perforations in the aluminum. The wax then hardens, and when it is exposed to heat during the descent of the lander, it will melt as it absorbs energy from the myriad pieces of technology contained within the module.</p>
<p>These technological apparatuses will be used to study the atmospheric conditions the module endures during the entire landing, as well as to gather data on wind speed and direction, humidity, pressure, surface temperature, and other characteristics of the atmospheric environment on the surface of Mars.</p>
<p>The information gathered by the module will be used to help determine if life ever existed on the Red Planet, and the tools of the module itself are steps towards creating technology for future Mars missions.</p>
<p>Additionally, the ExoMars mission will land a rover on Mars in 2018. The rover will sample the geology of Earth’s sister planet, map the terrain, and test for any organic compounds that may be found in the Martian rocks and dirt.</p>
<p>Ozmat is proud to be part of the project, contributing “a very valuable item that’s part of a historical system,” he said of the ExoMars landing module.</p>
<p>He mentioned several times that he doesn’t make a lot of money in his field, but his point of interest about his life settles on the journey here.</p>
<p>“I came to a point of regret many times,” he said. “Life makes a lot of sense backwards, but we have to live it forwards.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">June 19, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/burhan-ozmat" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">burhan ozmat</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/new-scotland" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">New Scotland</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/exomars-mission" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">exomars mission</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-3" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/mars" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mars</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/ozmat%E2%80%99s-cool-solution-hot-landing-red-planet"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Ozmat’s cool solution to a hot landing on the Red Planet">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/ozmat%25E2%2580%2599s-cool-solution-hot-landing-red-planet&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/ozmat%E2%80%99s-cool-solution-hot-landing-red-planet"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/06192014/ozmat%E2%80%99s-cool-solution-hot-landing-red-planet" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 19 Jun 2014 20:04:01 +0000reporter3264 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comNew Scotland deputy town clerk retireshttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/new-scotland-deputy-town-clerk-retires
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>NEW SCOTLAND — After 21 years of working for the Town of New Scotland, Carol Cootware is retiring from her position as deputy town clerk.</p>
<p>Cootware started working for the town in February 1993, two months after her husband heard at the December 1992 town board meeting that there was a job opening in the supervisor’s office.</p>
<p>At last week’s town board meeting, the board read a proclamation recognizing Cootware’s contribution and service to the town, and Town Clerk Diane Deschenes gave her flowers and a hug.</p>
<p>Cootware describes her favorite part of her job as “seeing people every day, the town people,” and helping them with things like licenses for dogs, marriages, and hunting.</p>
<p>She plans to take the rest of the year to enjoy her retirement, and then possibly start looking for a part-time job next January.</p>
<p>“I really enjoyed working here,” she said. “Maybe there will be something here part-time.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">June 19, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/new-scotland" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">New Scotland</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/carol-cootware" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">carol cootware</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/new-scotland-deputy-town-clerk-retires"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="New Scotland deputy town clerk retires">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/new-scotland-deputy-town-clerk-retires&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/new-scotland-deputy-town-clerk-retires"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/06192014/new-scotland-deputy-town-clerk-retires" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 19 Jun 2014 19:49:39 +0000reporter3263 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comMan sentenced to up to 7 years for New Scotland burglaryhttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/man-sentenced-7-years-new-scotland-burglary
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2441" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/crime%2C%20Descisciolo.sflb_.jpg?itok=e-NvClrq" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/crime%2C%20Descisciolo.sflb_.jpg?itok=MuiEN9zB" width="300" height="489" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><strong>Sean Descisciolo</strong></p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>NEW SCOTLAND — This week, Sean Descisciolo, 30, of Middle Grove, N.Y., was sentenced to 28 months to seven years in state prison for a burglary he committed last August.</p>
<p>While on a job as a painter, Descisciolo entered a home on Mason Lane in New Scotland, where he stole $9,650 worth of jewelry, including: an emerald and diamond ring, an 18-inch pearl necklace, diamond and pearl earrings, and antique pins, among other items, according to the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.</p>
<p>The victim reported the items missing in October 2013, two months after contracting with the company Descisciolo worked for to paint the outside of the house; Descisciolo was not permitted to enter the home.</p>
<p>“It was a simple crime of opportunity,” said Justin Devendorf, media coordinator for the Albany County District Attorney’s Office. </p>
<p>After the report was made, the police began an investigation and, within the month, discovered that Descisciolo had stolen the jewelry. Descisciolo confessed to stealing the jewelry when officers arrest him, the release said.</p>
<p>On June 7 of this year, he pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree burglary, a felony.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">June 19, 2014</div></div></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/man-sentenced-7-years-new-scotland-burglary"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Man sentenced to up to 7 years for New Scotland burglary">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/man-sentenced-7-years-new-scotland-burglary&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/man-sentenced-7-years-new-scotland-burglary"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/06192014/man-sentenced-7-years-new-scotland-burglary" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 19 Jun 2014 19:47:32 +0000reporter3262 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comSummer Solstice Celebration comes to Rail Trailhttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/summer-solstice-celebration-comes-rail-trail
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>VOORHEESVILLE — The Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail will be filled with more than just the usual individuals and families out enjoying the day next Sunday afternoon.</p>
<p>On June 22, from noon to 3 p.m., the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy is putting on its third annual Summer Solstice Celebration on the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail.</p>
<p>This year is the first that the open portion of the trail in Voorheesville will be included in the celebration in addition to the stretch of trail from Delmar to Slingerlands. </p>
<p>“Ultimately, we’d like the celebration to span the entire rail trail,” said Lea Montalto-Rook, development director at the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy, “So it’s nine miles of celebration.”</p>
<p>Mohawk Hudson is leasing the rail trail from Albany County, which owns it, and has rail trail ambassadors that walk the trails and make sure they are kept up.</p>
<p>The trail will host over 52 different participants this year, including traditional English and Irish dance groups, musicians, artists, animal and environmental organizations, face painters, and baby animals from Indian Ladder Farms.</p>
<p>There will be shuttles at the Voorheesville, Slingerlands, and Bethlehem sections of the rail trail so visitors can easily travel between them if they aren’t up for walking. The Voorheesville section sits off by itself, currently, as there is a half-mile of trail between Voorheesville and Bethlehem that is not open yet.</p>
<p>Indian Ladder Farms will be bringing baby animals to both sections of the trail.</p>
<p>“It’s a wonderful community event that hopefully we’ll be able to expand,” Montalto-Rook said.</p>
<p>“What excites me the most,” she continued, “is being able to have an event that brings together people from the community where we can enjoy our environment.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">June 19, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/helderberg-rail-trail" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">helderberg rail trail</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/summer-solstice-celebration" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">summer solstice celebration</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/summer-solstice-celebration-comes-rail-trail"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Summer Solstice Celebration comes to Rail Trail">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/summer-solstice-celebration-comes-rail-trail&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06192014/summer-solstice-celebration-comes-rail-trail"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/06192014/summer-solstice-celebration-comes-rail-trail" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 19 Jun 2014 19:42:51 +0000reporter3261 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comPhotos: Hiking Through History http://www.altamontenterprise.com/image/06122014/photos-hiking-through-history
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div about="/field-collection/field-images/2397" typeof="" class="ds-1col entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images view-mode-full clearfix">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/DSC01037.JPG?itok=S17wIR9Y" width="733" height="550" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>— Lisa Nicole Viers</p>
<p><strong>Last Saturday, Tim Albright</strong> led a group of visitors on a hike through John Boyd Thacher State Park, which is celebrating its centennial this year. Hikers followed Albright along the escarpment trail, stepping over rocks and shimmying between tree branches and the wooden fence.</p>
</div></div></div></div>
</div><div class="field-item odd"><div about="/field-collection/field-images/2398" typeof="" class="ds-1col entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images view-mode-full clearfix">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/DSC01140.jpg?itok=njv1Hgcq" width="413" height="550" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>— Lisa Nicole Viers </p>
<p><strong>Stone stairs led down</strong> to a wooden platform that straddled over the original Indian Ladder Trail, where thousands of settlers traveled during the time this area was being colonized.</p>
</div></div></div></div>
</div><div class="field-item even"><div about="/field-collection/field-images/2399" typeof="" class="ds-1col entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images view-mode-full clearfix">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/DSC01171.JPG?itok=XJfZ-HJa" width="750" height="517" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>— Lisa Nicole Viers</p>
<p><strong>Overlooks at John Boyd Thacher State Park </strong>in New Scotland give views of deep, lush valleys and rough mountain ranges hundreds of miles away. During the two-hour hike last Saturday, visitors had ample opportunity to take in the beauty surrounding them.</p>
</div></div></div></div>
</div><div class="field-item odd"><div about="/field-collection/field-images/2400" typeof="" class="ds-1col entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images view-mode-full clearfix">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/DSC01162.JPG?itok=HmT9NPon" width="498" height="550" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>— Lisa Nicole Viers</p>
<p><strong>Near the end of their hike,</strong> Albright's group came across a bouquet of flowers and a card beside the trail. The card, addressed to “Mom” ends with, “This is my first year without you and I miss you so very much!”</p>
</div></div></div></div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>Last Saturday, a group of hikers were led through John Boyd Thacher State Park on a walk filled with history lessons given by Tim Albright.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">June 12, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0"><a href="/tags/john-boyd-thacher-state-park" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">john boyd thacher state park</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1"><a href="/tags/centennial" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">centennial</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2"><a href="/tags/national-trails-day" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">national trails day</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/image/06122014/photos-hiking-through-history"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Photos: Hiking Through History ">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/image/06122014/photos-hiking-through-history&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/image/06122014/photos-hiking-through-history"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=image/06122014/photos-hiking-through-history" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div>Thu, 12 Jun 2014 19:51:25 +0000reporter3202 at http://www.altamontenterprise.comThacher hosts walk on National Trails Dayhttp://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06122014/thacher-hosts-walk-national-trails-day
<div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden">by <a href="/author/lisa-nicole-viers" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Lisa Nicole Viers</a></div><div class="field field-name-field-images field-type-field-collection field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><div class="entity entity-field-collection-item field-collection-item-field-images clearfix" about="/field-collection/field-images/2396" typeof="">
<div class="content">
<div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/full/public/DSC01100.JPG?itok=Eg5nV95X" rel="lightbox[field_image][]" title=""><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/DSC01100.JPG?itok=6Q5f0uFu" width="300" height="225" alt="" /></a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-image-description field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Enterprise — Lisa Nicole Viers</p>
<p><strong>Summer foliage cascades</strong> over a creek in John Boyd Thacher State Park. The creek, where a dog is playing in the water next to two women, becomes a waterfall at the edge of the cliff.</p>
</div></div></div> </div>
</div>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><span class="EnterpriseNormal">NEW SCOTLAND — A group of about 20 visitors to Thacher Park hiked along the Helderberg escarpment last Saturday, with hundreds of years of local history beneath their feet.</span></p>
<p><span>Tim Albright, who grew up playing on the escarpment and co-authored a book about it, led the walk, which lasted about two hours, winding along the edge of the escarpment. (<a href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/image/06122014/photos-hiking-through-history">View the image gallery</a>)</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">Beginning at an overlook, Albright gave a brief geological history of the area. The shale, sandstone, and limestone that make up the escarpment were deposited by ocean waters covering the land mass during the Devonian period, about 420 million years ago.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">Albright also explained how the region was originally much further south, a tropical area, but was moved north through plate tectonics over millions of years.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">“But the human history of this area began with Henry Hudson,” Albright said. Hudson arrived in 1609, tasked by the Dutch East India Company with finding a new route to the Orient. </span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">While here, Hudson traded with Native Americans, and then eventually went back to the Netherlands. After hearing of his fruitful venture, the Dutch East India Company created a second branch, the Dutch West India Company. Soon after, the Dutch came in droves to colonize modern-day Albany County and surrounding land.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">What is now a heavily wooded area on the escarpment was treeless during the 1700s, as early settlers engaged in livestock farming due to the soil being rocky and bad for crops. In many areas, animals grazed right to the edge of the escarpment, Albright said.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">The park was re-forested by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">Albright led the group of hikers along the escarpment trail, and then down stone stairs to the Indian Ladder Trail. The stairs were placed in the 1950s, when millions of dollars in updates were spread throughout the park.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">“The park was growing by leaps and bounds,” Albright said, “The need was there, so they kept building.”</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">The stairs cover up some of the terrain that was the Indian Ladder Trail, originally a rocky foot path. European settlers blasted and cut through the rock and craggy boulders now covered in moss, which Albright explained were most likely chipped away at with hand tools. </span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">Bordering the stairs lengthwise is the terrain that early settlers of the area had to traverse to get up onto the relatively flat top of the escarpment. </span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">Rocks, tree roots, and foliage cover the ground in uneven spurts and jut up haphazardly, making what must have been a difficult trek, said some of the score of hikers on Albright’s tour.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">Travelers got over the cliff leading to the trail by felling a tree against it, leaving tree branches or notches in the trunk to use as hand and foot holds.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">“That was the original Indian Ladder,” Albright said, “nothing but a tree.”</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">While the trail was in use, many travelers went up and down it with horses toting carts full of goods. To make the route down the steep trail somewhat easier, ruts were put in the road every so often, so the cart wheels could rest in them and the horses wouldn’t have the full weight of the cart pushing against them.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">These ruts were called “thank you ma’ams,” Albright said.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">Additionally, it was common to chain the back wheels of the cart so they couldn’t roll, which also helped make the journey a bit easier on the horses, and most likely steadier for the travelers. </span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">The addition of the stairs over 60 years ago certainly made hiking through the park easier for visitors, and within the next few years more updates will be made in Thacher Park.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">“We’re very happy to hear about it,” Albright said of the new visitor’s center, the construction of which will incorporate local stone and wood. The groundbreaking for the new center is set for later this year, with a possible opening date of late 2015.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">“Thacher Park has the appeal for the common man,” said Albright, adding that he enjoys promoting the park and having people enjoy it.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">“But, I’m probably going to regret that someday,” he said, with a laugh, “because I like coming here and being alone.”</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">This fall, Albright certainly won’t be alone in the park, as events celebrating the park’s centennial are occurring all year, coming to a peak in September with the centennial celebration.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">About one to two thousand people were at the original dedication of the park in 1914, including then-Governor Martin H. Glynn, Albright said.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">Albright is passionate about wanting the current governor, Andrew Cuomo, to attend the Sept. 13 centennial celebration, and also has strong feelings about preserving the land around the park for public use, so future generations can enjoy it, rather than having housing developments pop up in the valleys below the escarpment.</span></p>
<p class="EnterpriseBody"><span class="EnterpriseNormal">“The greater good,” Albright said, “is to preserve it for all of us.”</span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-post-date field-type-ds field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Post date:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">June 12, 2014</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><h3 class="field-label">Tags: </h3><ul class="links inline"><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-0" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/john-boyd-thacher-state-park" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">john boyd thacher state park</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-1" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/tim-albright" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">tim albright</a></li><li class="taxonomy-term-reference-2" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/tags/history" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">history</a></li></ul></div><div class="easy_social_box clearfix vertical easy_social_lang_und">
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-twitter first"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button"
data-url="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06122014/thacher-hosts-walk-national-trails-day"
data-count="vertical"
data-lang = "en"
data-via=""
data-related=":"
data-text="Thacher hosts walk on National Trails Day">Tweet</a></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-facebook"><iframe src="//www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?locale=en_US&amp;href=http%3A//www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06122014/thacher-hosts-walk-national-trails-day&amp;send=false&amp;layout=box_count&amp;width=48&amp;show_faces=true&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;font=&amp;height=90&amp;appId=" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:48px; height:90px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div>
<div class="easy_social-widget easy_social-widget-googleplus last"><div class="g-plusone" data-size="tall" data-annotation="bubble" data-href="http://www.altamontenterprise.com/news/new-scotland/06122014/thacher-hosts-walk-national-trails-day"></div></div>
</div> <!-- /.easy_social_box --><div class="field field-name-forward-ds-field field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/forward?path=news/new-scotland/06122014/thacher-hosts-walk-national-trails-day" title="Forward this page to a friend" class="forward-page">Email this page</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-print-this-page field-type-ds field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><a href="javascript:window.print()">Print this page</a></p>
</div></div></div>Thu, 12 Jun 2014 19:37:36 +0000reporter3201 at http://www.altamontenterprise.com